Three Proposals Made to Address Wyoming School Funding

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Three different constitutional amendments have been proposed in the Wyoming Legislature to tackle the deficits facing state K-12 school funding.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 would lower the amount of school funding that Wyoming provides to the levels spent by neighboring states.

House Joint Resolution 9 would limit courts' oversight of Wyoming education. The current school funding landscape has been largely shaped by a number of landmark state Supreme Court decisions, which threw out the state's old, district-by-district system of paying for education.

And Senate Joint Resolution 3 would shift much of the burden of paying for new schools onto districts. Currently, the state pays the bill. Districts seeking a new school would have to fund the project via a bond issue approved by local voters.